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Friday, March 20, 2015

Sourdough Old Fashion Doughnuts

First off, Congratulations to Sourdough Surprises on their 3rd Anniversary!! Without you the world would be a little less sour and I mean that in a good way, of course! I've learned so much from baking along with the group for the last two years, and look forward to many more!

For this anniversary post, in which we all got
to do our own thing, I decided to visit a challenge that occurred
before I got hip to the group- Sourdough Doughnuts.

But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. First a little back story.

Did you ever wonder what people did before i-phones, twitter and Starbucks? I'm not sure how they communicated, maybe wrote letters or talked in person? But I know where they had their coffee- Chock Full of Nuts. I know because we had one downtown and I met my sister there for coffee on more than one occasion. It was a thing, believe me (You can still buy CFofN coffee at better markets everywhere). And I did a little digging to find out more. It's a true, if nutty, rags to riches story about an immigrant nut seller in Times Square who turned a chestnut into a chain of successful coffee shops. But it leaves out one important and tasty bit of info. Old fashioned whole wheat doughnuts.

I had an old fashioned whole wheat doughnut every time I went to Chock, as we called it. They came hermetically sealed, but I didn't hold that against them. They weren't as cloyingly sweet as other commercial doughnuts and of course they were whole wheat, which you never saw back in the day. And they weren't trying to impress you with the size either. They were just the right portion for a couple of bites with a watered down cup of coffee.

Spring forward a few years and here I am trying to recreate this treasured memory. I gathered some
inspiration from this recipe and this one then let my starter do it's magic. I was definitely tasting a little nostalgia along with the delicious fried dough and sugary glaze, so, needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed these doughnuts. They were the panda's bamboo, as in I could have eaten them all day long!

sourdough old fashioned whole wheat doughnuts

1 & 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 egg

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sourdough starter

oil for frying

glaze

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup hot water (or enough to make a thin glaze)

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl sift together flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

In a stand mixer cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well. Add flour mixture and wet ingredients alternately, starting and ending with flour until dough forms.

Wrap dough and chill for 1 hour or overnight.

Before cutting and frying doughnuts make glaze. In a large bowl whisk together all ingredients until smooth and thin.

Heat oil in heavy bottomed pan to 325 degrees. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to roughly 7/16 of an inch. Cut dough with a 2 & 1/2 inch round cutter. Cut out centers with a 3/3 inch round. Re-roll scraps as needed, batch should yield about 12 doughnuts and doughnuts holes.

Working in batches fry doughnuts and doughnut holes a couple at a time, flipping once or twice until lightly browned. Drain on wire rack and dip in glaze while still warm (you may need to give the glaze a quick whisk if it sits too long).

Hi Robyn, I"m new to your blog. Was searching some sourdough recipes. Love what's I've seen. Anxious to try some. I'm also drawn to you because I have Fuoco's in my family tree. My grandmother's sister Jennie married Anthony Fuoco. (He might have gone by his middle name of Joseph) They had 5 children, their sons were William and Michael. Any chance we are related? Or I'm related to your husband if this is your married name?

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About Me

Welcome to Almacucina, a place for people who like to eat standing up in the kitchen. We're into fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, simple delicious dishes and indulgent desserts. Feeding hungry eyes since 2012.
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